Reaching for sky in Providence: Proposed high-rises include 55-story tower

Monday

Nov 14, 2016 at 2:16 PMNov 15, 2016 at 12:40 PM

Kate Bramson Journal Staff Writer journalkate

PROVIDENCE — An out-of-state developer unveiled plans Monday to build three high-end residential towers on former Route 195 land, with the tallest at 55 stories — far higher than anything else in the city and beyond what's currently allowed by city zoning regulations.

Jason Fane, president of The Fane Organization, told the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission that he wants to build perhaps 1 million square feet, or more, on a one-acre parcel between Dyer Street and the intended park space that's west of the Providence River. Fane said he'd probably build in phases. The entire project might cost between $400 and $500 million to build, he told The Providence Journal in an interview prior to the commission meeting.

"Hope Point Towers" would be connected at ground level and share retail space such as a restaurant and grocery store, Fane said. No decisions are finalized, but the residential units would probably be a mixture of condominiums and apartments. Amenities might include a residents-only, stadium-seating movie theater and a smaller, more cozy theater with couches for residents' parties, Fane told The Journal. Above the retail level would be four levels of connected parking. Then, three separate towers would rise up at varying heights — 33, 43 and 55 stories tall, Fane said.

Currently, the city’s tallest skyscraper is the vacant "Superman Building," at 26 stories, City Assessor David Quinn said Monday.

Fane said he'd use the tax-stabilization agreement the city created last year for development projects on 195 land, and he's exploring other financial incentives available from the state and commission.

The city has set aside five tax breaks for projects costing $50 million or more, which allow 20-year deals that require no taxes for the first three years and then incremental tax increases until full taxation in year 20. Although he's familiar with various state incentives, including Rebuild RI tax credits and a $25-million fund to spur creation on 195 land, Fane said he hasn't calculated how much he might seek.

According to 195 commission guidelines, zoning on that land includes a 100-foot height limit, which would be seven floors. That height can be exceeded by three more floors, though, if a project meets certain requirements, such as active commercial development on the ground floor.

"This will be an iconic project, and to succeed it's got to be on a sufficient scale that it's visible," Fane told The Journal. "It's changing Providence, and the commission will have to decide that they want something like this or not."

If they want it, he said he wants to build it. And if they don't, he said after the meeting, he'll go away.

For nearly an hour at the commission meeting, Fane, project architect Sol Wassermuhl and the project's general counsel, Jeffrey Padwa — the former Providence city solicitor who is now a partner in the law firm DarrowEverett, LLP — talked about the project and answered commissioners' questions. They said they hope the commission soon gives Level 1 approval, which would give Fane the green light to further develop designs.

The commission went into a closed-door meeting for about 45 minutes of further discussion about the project. Afterward, Vice Chairman Robert C. Davis, who chaired the meeting in Chairman Joseph Azrack's absence, said no votes were taken.

However, Davis told Fane and his team, which is headquartered at Rockefeller Center in New York City, that the complex proposal requires "substantial consideration" by the commission, which will conduct a financial analysis of the project.

In an interview, Davis said the commission has begun exploring who might conduct a financial feasibility study on whether the marketplace could support a project of this size. That decision wasn't made in the closed-door meeting, Davis said, but by Azrack in advance of the meeting.

The proposal faced support and criticism from members of the public.

While the commission met behind closed doors, Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio, a strong proponent of developing the vacant former highway land, and one of the leaders of the 2011 process to create the 195 commission, said he met Fane a couple of months ago to talk about the project. Ruggerio said he loves the proposal and believes there's room in the local housing market to support it.

Ruggerio, a top-level administrator for the Laborers International Union, said he heard favorable reports about Fane's development work in Toronto. Regarding the Providence project, he said: "I don't want the commission to lose this opportunity."

But members of the active Jewelry District Association neighborhood group, who attend all the 195 meetings, were surprised to learn details of the proposal Monday. President Arthur F. Salisbury expressed concern about the towers' size and the five-story base — the height of many other Jewelry District buildings. Salisbury said he thinks the towers need to be scaled down.

Sharon Steele, the association's quality of life chairwoman, said the towers would "dwarf the whole city of Providence."

"I think the scale is just wrong on so many levels," she said.

Fane said he has been working on the project for months and has met with Azrack, 195 Executive Director Peter McNally and commissioner Davis. He declined to say whether he has met with Governor Raimondo, but he has not met with Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza.

Asked by Davis when he might build, Fane stressed that he wants to get started soon.